1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a surface mining system and method which utilizes an arrangement of conveyors which are advanced over the spoil as a mineral seam is mined by making plural, generally parallel surface cuts.
2. Background
Surface or strip mining operations are generally carried out using a combination of material haulage and conveying equipment to extract minerals such as coal, for example, from successive elongated "cuts" in a mineral seam. Certain mineral seams may be of such quality as to preclude use of certain types of mining processes and still yield a profit on the mining operation. For example, truck haulage from the point of excavation of the mineral to a loading point of further transportation away from the mine or to certain processing equipment at the mine is often more labor and capital intensive than certain types of conveyor systems. Truck haulage is often more flexible than other types of haulage systems and permits certain processing equipment such as crushers or grinders to be located at a central point near a storage facility or the point of loading the produced mineral into rail cars or other modes of transport upon removal from the mine site.
However, if portable processing equipment can be provided wherein, for example, the particle size of the excavated ore or mineral material may be reduced prior to conveyance by conventional continuous belt conveyors, this type of transport system can be attractive. Moreover, in accordance with the features of the present invention, a substantially continuous mining operation may be carried out with transport of the mined material by conveyors which are placed on and advanced over the overburden spoil pile so that material may be conveyed directly to a storage facility for loading onto transport vehicles for departure from the mine site. The above-mentioned problems as well as certain other difficulties in developing efficient surface mining have been overcome with the surface or strip mining system of the present invention.